Bucket List

My mate over at Jay’s Insight started her Bucket List and tagged me a while back and I’m finally getting around to working on it (started 28th December 2011) – please note this is a work in progress. I may have stolen a few ideas from Jay and also Stacey over here. I’ve added some things that have been on my mental bucket list that I have already been able to do. My wishes range right from the trivial but they are all important to me. They are not in any particular order but the first one is top of my list for a reason – and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter one is another one I’d like to come to pass soon, pretty please).

• Write and publish a novel (I’m getting there on the writing side – 60,000 rough words have gone to Beta readers)
• Have my novel filmed (pipe dream as potentially out of my control but it has to be on the list anyway)
• Be asked for my autograph by someone I don’t know (delusions of grandeur)
• Win some sort of writing competition (not that I need validation…much)
• Fall in Love & Get Married
• Have some Kiddlywinkles (number undecided)
• See my sister get married
• Become an Auntie
• Become a Grandmother
• See my parents reach their 60 wedding anniversary like my grandparents did this year
• Own my own house outright
• Get my BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy (Achieved in 1999 but obv wanted to do this once I’d applied)
• Get an Open University degree (In Sept 2009 went to the Barbican in London to be awarded a 1st in BA (Hons) Literature (Open) which incorporates a Distinction in Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing)
• Get my PhD (I’m registered as a student at least now)
• Get an OT or OS related journal article published
• Present at Conferences (have achieved this a few times now)
  
• Read all seven Harry Potter Books (a number of times – plan to reread when e-books come out)
• See all eight Harry Potter films (also a number of times, the last twice on the day of release at the cinema)
  
• Join Pottermore – I’m a Hufflepuff as are all my besties.
• Read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Read Quidditch Through the Ages
• Read The Tales of Beedle the Bard (and thanks to my lovely friend Stacey my gift for being her bridesmaid was a lovely special edition of this)
• Read Harry Potter Film Wizardry cover to cover
• Read Harry Potter From Page to Screen cover to cover
• Visit the Harry Potter WB Studio Tour at Leavesden Studios (booked for Easter Monday – squuueeee
• Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida
• Meet J.K.Rowling, Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, Stephanie Meyer and Stephen King (as I have loved their book series enough to be mentioned on my Bucket List – more of a dream really)
• Listen to all 7 Harry Potter Audiobooks by Stephen Fry (not at night when I fall asleep – I do own them)
• Start a Blog (I think you can see I achieved this one – Keeping up with it is the next goal)
• See the Northern Lights
• Sledding with Huskies
• Read all three Divergent books (Divergent, Insurgent, Unnamed third book)
• See all three Divergent films (Divergent, Insurgent, Unnamed third film)
• Read all three The Hunger Games books (needed to as soon as a few chapters into the first)
• See all three The Hunger Games films (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay – have just finished the books within a week).
• See the two Hobbit Films (Part 1 and Part 2)
• Read The Host (this is by Stephanie Meyer and I think is better than the Twilight series)
• See The Host film
• Read all four Twilight Books
• See all five Twilight films (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn Part 1, Breaking Dawn Part 2 – actually I haven’t enjoyed the films as much as the books but once you’ve started)
• Read Under the Dome by Stephen King
• Learn to play the Guitar (bought and sold an electric guitar – now have bought an acoustic version but no idea where to start)
• Finish knitting the scarf I’m currently knitting and then knit a scarf that looks OK Hurrah finished my scarf on Sunday 22nd January 2012 – See here for picture. It’s not perfect but I think it looks OK.
• Do a Bungy Jump (Taupo, New Zealand, 14th Feb 2001 – tandem with Catherine)
• Do a Parachute Jump (Not sure if I’m brave enough to do this one now)
• Ride in a Hot Air Balloon (This seems more my speed now – and Jay and Stacey have got it on their lists too)
• Stay at a really gorgeous spa hotel (stolen from Stacey because it sounded so nice)
• Make my will (got this one from Jay – so need to do this but keep putting it off for some reason!!)
• Swim with Dolphins (when I can actually see them and don’t get a nasty rope burn boomnetting – therefore not counting swimming with wild Dolphins in NZ).
• Take a Photo everyday for a year (and write a small stone too) – (See my Tumblr blog (link on the menu above) – I’ve set myself this challenge for 2012. Jay do you want to join in?)
• Visit New Zealand (did for two weeks in 2001) – Go back again and visit the South Island too
• Visit Canada and see some Mounties
• See it properly snow on Christmas Day (when I’m with my family safe at home)
• Make a snow angel (I made two last year)
• Swim in a picturesque ‘lake’ with a waterfall
• Weigh less than 12 stone again so that I can fit into a size 16 and feel happier with my body and healthier (not sure when the last time this was and trying to be realistic with the weight)
• Have one year without a major cold or chest infection (I will allow a minor sniffle)
  
• Start Giving Blood Again (I’m already on the Organ Donation Register – phoned today – this will be a longer term goal whilst thyroid is wonky)
• Register as a Bone Marrow Donor (longer term as you have to be a healthy blood donor first)
  
• Have enough energy (and rhythm) to perform a Jive or Lindy Hop or Charleston
• Have a really tidy house (even if only for an hour)
• See Wicked at least three times (Twice so far)
• Meet some more of my online friends in real life (ongoing)
• Find out the name of the kids book I read where a king has a party and the guests each have a number of the step of the tower where their party food etc is (It’s really bugging me now)
• See Dynamo the Magician perform a Magic Trick in the flesh (he is freaky)
• Own a cinema where you have sofas instead of chairs (ok this one is really more of a dream and I know you could say my lounge would fit this but I class a cinema as one where you get to legally watch films as soon as they are released – or even earlier in some cases).

Right think that’s plenty to be going along with – I’m sure this will be added to and gradually crossed off…

(I’ve had to copy the pic as the code on Jay’s page wasn’t working – it said image currently unavailable)